The Heavy: Great Vengeance and Furious Fire

Copy at Case Memorial Library
Eric R. Danton wrote in his Hartford Courant blog Sound Check: "Let’s call it mega-soul: heady, visceral stuff that lives up to the name of the band playing it. These 10 songs are heavy, all right, like a chunk of molybdenum. This British five-piece, fronted by a man with the pirate-sounding name of Swaby, starts with a classic-R&B template from the Screamin’ Jay Hawkins school and decks it out with modern touches that borrow from garage rock, hip-hop and funk. The result is a bass-heavy riot of deep grooves and lo-fi touches on the band’s debut (+1 Records). In fact, the bass is everywhere on 'Great Vengeance & Furious Fire.' It hovers in the air like a huge inky cloud on the slow-burner 'Doing Fine' and throbs on 'Coleen' behind a sly guitar lick and wet, boxy drums. Swaby croons as if he’s holding back a tidal wave of pent-up emotion, and letting just a little at a time slip through lest he unleash an unstoppable torrent of soul. Keyboard player Hannah Collins adds a startlingly sweet feminine touch with backing vocals on 'Set Me Free.' … 'Great Vengeance' is an entrancing peek at crush-worthy musical raw power" (4/7/08).